R16 (New York City Subway car)

R16
An R16 car on display at the NYTM
Manufacturer	American Car and Foundry, USA
Replaced	BMT Zephyr
Constructed	1954-1955
Entered service	1955
Scrapped	1983 (6400-6499) 1987 (6300-6399)
Number built	200
Number preserved	4
Number scrapped	196
Formation	Single unit cars
Fleet numbers	6300-6499
Capacity	70 (seated)
Operator(s)	New York City Subway
Specifications
Car body construction	LAHT carbon steel
Car length	60 ft (18.29 m)
Width	10 ft (3.05 m)
Height	12.08 ft (3.68 m)
Platform height	3.76 ft (1.15 m)
Doors	8
Maximum speed	55 mph (89 km/h)
Weight	GE cars (6400-6499) 84,532 lb (38,343 kg), WH cars (6300-6399) 86,270 lb (39,131 kg)
Traction system	Westinghouse 1447C; GE 1240A4 Westinghouse UPC631A; GE MCM 17KG113D1
Power output	100 hp (75 kW) / 4 per car
Acceleration	2.5 mph/s (4.0 km/(h·s)) (?)
Braking system(s)	WABCO ME42 SMEE
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)

The R16 was a New York City Subway car built by American Car and Foundry Company from 1954 to 1955.

The R16s were numbered 6300–6499.

When delivered, the R16's quickly became the new standard in car design for the New York City Transit Authority. Structurally and mechanically, they were the larger versions of the R17s and yet basically an improved version of the R10s with same exact dimensions except that the R16's had electrically operated door motors while the R10s had pneumatic door engines. When they were new, the R16's could give the R10 some competition when it came to speed - both cars were mechanically similar with four 100 horsepower motors and a balancing speed of 55 MPH.

The R16s, like the older Arnines, R10s, and R11s, featured three sets of mid-carbody passenger windows on each side. One set contained an illuminated rollsign box in lieu of a second window. This sign box had three readings arranged vertically - the top two being the train's terminals, and the bottom being the route. This window and signbox pattern became standard for later cars until the R40s. The R16 would also be the last car class delivered with cross wise seating until the R44 order in 1972.

There were two versions of the R16: Westinghouse-powered cars (6300-6399) and General Electric-powered cars (6400-6499), the latter of which were delivered earlier. The General Electric-powered cars used forced air to cool the rheostatic resistors used for acceleration and dynamic braking. Unfortunately, the low voltage rotary converter (motor-generator) was used to provide the air and proved to be problematic as the enclosure tended to trap dirt and rain water within, leading to high failure rates. Meanwhile, the Westinghouse-powered cars had resistors mounted in the open for slip stream cooling as had been the traditional means; this setup was found to be more reliable, and was used until the R22 order. In theory, both types of R16s could be run together; however, in practice, this was found to be less than desirable. Later in their service lives, cars of all classes would be segregated by electrical running gear to provide better fleet reliability.

The R16s were delivered between 1954-1955 in a kale green paint scheme, and first placed into passenger service on January 10, 1955 on the BMT #15, (now J). Two cars were painted gold for a celebration in 1955.